Gun



M. J. THUMBLE.

GUN.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. I2, Iszo.

PatentedNov. i6, 192@a J6 J2 J F054. v

VPl"

,este

Minori JAMES, TRUMBLE, orv ALHAMBRA, CALIFORNIA.

GUN.

VLesa-eee.

specificaiionqf Letters Patent. Patgnted Nov, 16, 1920i,

Application filed January 12, 1920. Serial No. 351,040.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, Minen JAMES TRUN- BLE, acitizen of the United States, residing at Alhambra, in the county of Los Angelesin gunsof that type inV which the projectile is expelled by the eXplosivef-orce' due to the ignition of a combustible mixture, such, for

example, as a hydrocarbon mixed with a suitable proportion of pureV oxygen. The ingredients of the combustible mixture are prises a combustion chamber `in communinot of the essence ofthis invention, and the improvements relate to means for controlling the admission of the exploded mixture to the gun barrel from a Vcombustionchamber. f :V Broadly considered, the inventioncomcation with the barrel of the gun, and means for closing such communication prior toV firing the progectile', and for opening such communication at the momentof discharge vso as to admit the burnt and burning Vgases immediately to` the barrel containing the projectile to eject the same. In its-preferred form the controlling means referred tocomprises a valve which isnormally heldseated` by the pressure of a gas-,andY is opened by the force of the expandinggases at the instant that the combustible charge "is ignited,VV the opening of the` valve 'admitting such charge to thegun' barrel The invention will Vbe best understoodf froml theY following` detailed description,

whenY considered` in connectionwith 'the ac'- companying drawings, in which: Y Figure 1 isa sectional viewV illustrating the'preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is av transverse sectionv onthe line' '2f-2,'Fig; 1, and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the'- line The invention to be described hereinafter- 'is applicable, not Aonly to fire arms' of small size, but equally to ordnance, and infact'to anyv size gun, 'and for theejection of' any type of-projectilc from'such gunlV As'herein illustrated, gun barrel 2 is suitably' con# nected, las by threads 4, toaT combustion` chamber of `any suitable design, and of( -suflicient capacity to contain.l thev desired. quantity of a combustible charge which,

y proved manner'.

cylinder V5 communicates with when ignited, is admittedv to the barrel 2 to eJect a projectile therein. r[he projectile may be inserted in the barrel in any apcentrically with reference to the circumference of the combustion chamber` 3, although' v suoli arrangement is not essential to my invention.- A pipe or conduit 9 which is* arrangedv for communication. with a source y of oxygen under high pressure, or withpat-l mosphericair', or other suitable gas, is connected with the cylinder 5, and a check valve 11 is located in the'rpipe 9 andl opens toward the cylinder. The upper portion ofA the cylinder y5` is shownv as provided; with a passageway 12 to which is'connected a pipe 18 for supplying a suitable fuel to'be 'combined with the oxygen, or other gassupplied by thefpipe 9, said fuel and gas forming a combustible mixture.

The interior of the the passage 12 by an opening 145, which is closed yby a spring-seated check valve 16', and anopen-A ing 18 leads from they passage 12 to the interior of the combustion chamber' 3 said opening beingclosed by an inwardly opening spring-actuated check valve 19." l3etween the check valves 16 and 19, I preferablylocate a Vcheck valve 17 which V opens towardthe.combustion chamber, and serves as ain additional means to that alforded by the valve 19 for preventing the. escape of the gases of explosion from the combustion chamber'iearwardly into the 'fuel passage'.v

A. piston?, having.y the usualgas-'tight piston rings,is arranged inthe cylinder 54 for reciprocation, said piston having a stein l 8 which`l extendsl from the forward end-of theV piston. through the combustion chamber- 3, and has at its outerend a valve 2O which seats upon the gunjbarrel 2 vand closes4 communication between the" combustion chamberandithe gun barrelk2. In order to` guide the valve truly to its seatsuitable guiding `means, as a ring 22, is provided for the stem 8,"saidring being-herein shown with a stem which is threaded in a socket in the wall of the combustion chamber. r

VThe Vcombustible charge in the chamberv 3 is ignited through any suitable igniting device, as for example, a spark gap 23, within the chamber, whose terminals may be suitl ably connected with electrical conductors.

Any desired means for completing a circuit through the terminals 23 nmay be employed, as is obvious.

In the operation of my gun', the pipe 13 is connected with a suitable source of fuel, suchV as gasolene, distillate, acetylene, and the pipe 9 is in communication with a source of pure oxygen, or other gas which when combined with the fuel will produce a combustible mixture, and suitable valves are employed to control the flow of the fuel andthe oxygen. \Vhen the parts are as shown in Fig; 1 of the drawings the valve is closed upon the end of the barrel 2, and the piston 7 is at the forward end of itstravel in the cylinder 5,

Vsuitable source. Vflows through the several check valves, 16,v

leaving a space to the rear of the piston. Upon opening the valveof the pipe 9 oxygen under high pressure is admitted to theespaee behind the piston, and Hows thence through thev opening 14 into the passagev 12 where it mingles with the hydrocarbon or other fuel which is admitted to the'passage 12 from a The combustible mixture 17 and 19 into the combustion chamber 3 `which is illedwith such mixture under a high'pressure, the amount of such pressure being dependent upon the forcedcsired when the mixture is ignited.

I Inasmuch as the rear face kof the piston 7 is larger in area than the frontface of the pistonbecausev of the presence of the stem V8, the valve 20 will be held seated against the rear. end of the gun barrel by the force due to this differential pressure. The closure of the valve 20 upon the end of the gun barrel lisolates the combustion chamber from the interior of the barrel, Vprevious to the firing of the charge. Afterfthe 'combustible mixture has been admitted to the interior of the chamber 3, the circuit through the check-ing the rearward movement of the piston until the gases of combustion Vhave fully.

acted upon the projectile. As soon as the pressure in front of the piston has been sufficiently diminished by the escape of `the j charge, the compressed gas to the rear of the piston will reactfupon the latterv and in-v stantly force the valve 20 to its seat, thus again closing communication between the charge to eject the projectile.

they were previous to the beginning of the above described operation.

-The operation of the controlling means forvthe gases is so rapid and certain, that the gun may be fired with great rapidity. In each instance, it is only necessary to open the fuel andoXygen passages to admit a charge to the cylinder and combustion chamber, and

then actuate the switch for igniting the Y Suitable mechanism may be provided for causing these operations to take place very quickly,

it being of course understood that any approved means is provided for inserting a projectile previous to firing each charge.

For the purpose of eiectually scavenging 'j the combustion chamber, in the event that the burnt gases do not escape with suicient freedon therefrom, I may connect the com-` bustion chamber with a suitable source of water Vsupply and flush the same out Vwhen desired.l The arrangement of devices fori accomplishing this result would suggest itself to any skilled mechanic and such arrangement is not a part ofthe present invention. wide uses, among which may be mentioned its adaptability to guns mounted on submarine boats, where the closure between the combustion chamber and barrel renders it possible-to submerge the gun with perfect safety, after eachr discharge, andthe gunv will be in condition for immediate use following a` submergence.

'The invention `is not limited to the particular arrangement of parts, or details of construction herein illustrated by way of example only, and it is understood that vari` ations may be made in the form, construc,

tion, or arrangement of the parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. Y

I claim as my invention:-

1. In a gun, a barrel, a combustion chamber, a pressure-actuated valve lfor closing'V communication Vbetween said parts.v and` means associated with said valve to hold itA closed when anf explosive gas is admitted tothe chamber arranged to open the valve This invention is susceptible of when said gas isignited, and means for igniting the gas. y

2. In a gun, a barrel, a combustion chamber communicating therewith, pressure actuatedl meansfor closing communication between said parts, means for admittinga'V combustible charge to the, chamber, andv means for igniting the chargethereby causj mg said pressure-actuated means 'to open and` establish communication betweenr said;`

chamber and barrel.

3. In agun, aV barrel, a combustionV chamber communicating therewith, a valve for controlling such communication, a piston 'l connected with said valve, a cylinder therecombustion chamber and the gun barrel, and

restablisling ythe condition of the parts as for, means to admit gas to said cylinder forv holding the valve closed prior to firing,

means to admit a combustible charge to said chamber, and means for igniting the charge to cause the piston to open said valve.

4. In a gun, a barrel, a combustion chamber communicating therewith, a valve for Controlling such Communication, a piston connected with said valve, a Cylinder therefor, means to admit gas too-ne side oi' said piston for holding the valve closed prior to iiring, means to admit a combustible charge to said chamber upon the opposite side of the piston, and means for igniting the Ycharge to cause the piston to open said valve. Y

5. In a gun, a barrel, a combustion chamber communicating therewith, a valve -for controllingL such Communication having a piston having dierent sized areas, a Cylin-V der therefor, means to admit gas to that Side of the piston having'the larger area to hold the valve closed, means to admit a Y combustible charge to the opposite side of the piston, and means to ignite the charge thereby eausingrthe valve toopen and permitting the explosive Charge to enter the barrel and eject a projectile.

6. In a gun, a barrel, a combustion Chamber Communicating therewith, a pistonactuated valve for Controlling such communication, means to admit gas under pressure to the piston for holding the valve closed, means to admit a combustible charge and means for creating a superior pressure by igniting said combustible charge to open the valve and admit said Charge to the barrel.

7. In a gun, a barrel, av combustion vchamber Communicating therewith, a pistonactuated valve for controlling such communication, means to admit gas under pressure to thepiston for holding the valve closed, means to combine a portion of said gas with fuel to form a combustible charge and to admit the charge to the combustion chamber, and means to ignite the charge to create gases of Combustion to open the valve and' fire a projectile from the barrel.

8. In a gun, the combination vwith a'-4 barrel, or" a combustion chamber communieating therewith, a cylinder connected with said chamber, ay piston therein having differential areas and a valve connected thereto, means for admitting gas to the cylinder -for acting upon the larger area to hold the valve closed, a by-pass for admitting a combustible charge to said chamber to act upon the smaller area of the piston, and means toignite the charge and force the piston` said chamber to act upon Vthe smaller area of the piston, and means to ignite the charge within said *chamber to thereby force the i piston rearwardly to open the valve, the piston closing the by-pass and beingeushioned on the gas in the Cylinder.

In testimony whereof, I have set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 3rd day of January, 1920.

MILON JAMES TRUMBLE.

hereunto l 

